Internet Archive starts preserving classic game consoles on the web
Many gamers won’t load a console emulator for much more than a brief nostalgia kick. The Internet Archive has loftier goals, however. It’s expanding its Historical Software Collection to include the free-to-play Console Living Room beta, which recreates classic ’70s and ’80s systems on the web for the sake of the historical record. The initial library includes hundreds of games for the Astrocade, Atari 2600, Atari 7800, ColecoVision and Magnavox Odyssey. There are gaps in the catalog, and sound isn’t working; the CLR isn’t yet a match for a conventional software emulator, let alone the real thing. The Internet Archive promises to address both problems in the near future, though, and it shouldn’t be long before its collection delivers a complete vintage gaming experience… minus the old-fashioned tube TV.
Source: Console Living Room
Keyboards and mice connect to and control next-gen game consoles with XIM4 adapter (video)
Perhaps you’re a long-time PC gamer, but the massive marketing campaigns waged by Microsoft and Sony have had the desired effect, and you’ve taken the next-gen plunge. But in doing so, must you exchange your mad mouse and keyboard skills for the clumsy controls offered by DualShock and Xbox controllers? Nay! For a new XIM adapter is here to hook your PC peripherals to your Xbox One or PlayStation 4, providing you the precision PC control you’re accustomed to — and allow you to use your existing Bluetooth or USB headsets to work with those consoles too.
This newest XIM currently works with Xbox One, and you can see a video of a prototype device being used to play on Call of Duty: Ghosts after the break. Aside from bringing next-gen compatibility, XIM4 also has a companion app that lets you configure your controls wirelessly with your Android device running 2.3.3 and up — as opposed to the old adapters that required you to wire them up to a PC to do so. You see, for XIM’s tech to work, users must download a different profile for every game, as each title has its own control quirks — but as new games come out, the app prompts users automatically to download the latest profiles. The XIM4 won’t be released until next year, but a beta will be opening up soon to folks who own a XIM Edge (the previous-gen XIM that works with Xbox 360 and PS3), and work is ongoing to get it functioning with Sony’s DualShock 4. Stay tuned.
[Thanks, Nicolas]
Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals
Source: XIM3
Oculus VR gets into game publishing with some help from former EA VP
Between virtual reality headset maker Oculus VR’s Share portal and a recent infusion of $75 million, it’s not exactly a huge surprise to hear that the startup is branching out into game publishing as well. Former Electronic Arts senior VP David DeMartini is now heading up Oculus’ game-publishing arm, which aims to give, “developers additional resources to help them achieve their vision.” In case it wasn’t already clear, “resources” in this instance means money, though it likely also means development assistance.
As DeMartini puts it, “What I’m doing at Oculus, it’s not particularly different from what I did for seven years at EA as part of the EA Partners program.” While at EA Partners, DeMartini helped shepherd game development from third-party, non-EA-owned studios through the perilous world of game publishing. During his tenure, hit series like Rock Band and Left 4 Dead made EA Partners a success story. He’s applying that same curatorial experience to Oculus, traveling the world to visit developers and other content partners with the hope of having a robust lineup when the consumer Oculus Rift headset launches at some point in 2014.
Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals, Wearables, Software, HD
Source: Gamasutra
Samsung’s GamePad to arrive in a Galaxy Tab 3 Game Edition bundle
It looks like Samsung will not only send the newly launched GamePad into the world solo, but also bundle it up. Although there’s no official word yet, a German blog has reported that the controller has been paired up with the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 in a special Game Edition package. Using them could be awkward since the tablet’s too large to sit on the GamePad, but you can always hook it up to a TV using the accompanying HDMI adapter. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find info on whether the duo will come stateside, and we doubt it’ll arrive in time for Christmas. If so, hopefully there’ll be some savings over buying them separately, since the sticker on the GamePad alone is $110.
Filed under: Cellphones, Misc, Gaming, Tablets, Mobile, Samsung
Via: Android Community
Source: AllAboutSamsung
Samsung Smartphone Gamepad Officially Released, Looks A Little Different Than We Expected
We’ve heard about Samsung toying with the idea of a gamepad for some time now, but this iteration, deemed as the Samsung Smartphone Gamepad, looks quite different to the prototype version we saw at the launch of the Galaxy S4 almost 8 months ago. For those who can’t remember that far back, this is what that controller looked like:
While the general form-factor of this officially announced controller is generally the same, you can tell that Samsung has done a lot of tweaking and research into what people who play games with mobile controllers actually want. What has resulted is something that is eerily reminiscent of the MOGA Pocket controller from PowerA, but as we know from our hands on with the device, that’s not a bad thing at all.
The Gamepad will be optimized for operation with Samsung’s Android 4.3 devices, the main ones being of course the Note 3, Galaxy S4, Note 2 and Galaxy S3. It will connect to your device via Bluetooth, and will also require the use of the Mobile Console App which will have a limited number of games compatible at launch, however this list will grow over time.
The Gamepad is available now in Europe, with a gradual roll-out to other regions planned. No word on pricing, but if Samsung is to have any hope of competing with other Bluetooth game controllers which are compatible with most other phones, the Gamepad would ideally not cross the $100 USD threshold.
What do you think about the Samsung Smartphone Gamepad? Is it something you would buy? Let us know.
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.
Source: Samsung Tomorrow, engadget
Avenger Reflex aims to improve Xbox One and PS4 input times, looks bananas
Those Xbox One and PlayStation 4 gamepads you’ve got look a little underdressed, and not nearly enough like Batman. Thankfully, the Avenger Reflex is here to fix both issues in one fell swoop, appending a shell to either the XB1 or PS4 gamepad that promises “faster response time” and levers to hit the four main face buttons without having to lift your thumbs from either thumbstick.
As you might’ve already guessed, the Reflex is simply the latest iteration in the Avenger series. It adds one new trick: dubbed the “bionic edge,” a lever below your left thumb “removes all need to move your thumb from your analog stick.” We’ll have to give it a shot before trusting that claim; we’ve got until “late March,” when the Avenger Reflex goes on sale for $70 (pre-orders are available now for 20 percent off if you use discount code “REFLEX”).
The company started back in 2011 with an Xbox 360 gamepad shell, eventually evolving several successful iterations. Beyond the Avenger controller series, the company also makes the occasionally controversial, always bizarre Delta Six gaming peripheral.
Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals, HD, Sony, Microsoft
Early Valve Steam Machine easily torn down by team iFixit
It looks like tearing apart a Steam Machine apart is infinitely easier than getting your hands on one. Luckily iFixit had one of few fortunate beta testers on its crew, so they naturally proceeded to dismember his box and controller. Unlike other gaming consoles, this one is designed to be opened and modded by its owners, since it’s essentially a small form factor PC with removable components. After removing the single Philips screw (yay!), the team found a punchy Zotac NVIDIA GTX 780 3GB graphics card, 1TB Seagate hybrid SSHD drive, 16GB of DDR3 RAM, an Intel Core i5-4570 CPU clocked to 3.6GHz and a 450W power supply. As for the controller, the team easily cracked it open and were fans of its configurable nature and wealth of buttons. Overall, the only snafus iFixit noted were hard-to-remove RAM and a tricky cable routing system, and gave it a top-notch 9 out of 10 repairability score. This is the part where we normally say to avoid such exploits if you’re lucky enough to get one of the 300 boxes — but given these results, we’d say go for it.
Source: iFixit
‘NES Remix’ takes classic NES games and…remixes them for Wii U, available today for $15
NES Remix is a new game collection from Nintendo for the Wii U that takes 16 classic Nintendo games — from Super Mario Bros. to The Legend of Zelda — and picks specific pieces of them for remixing. For instance, an Excitebike level is shown as if the driver had a headlight in a dark arena, and a famous Mario level is shown entirely backwards. In so many words, NES Remix is a series of classic game vignettes remastered and re-released in a new package for the Wii U, which sounds…fantastic? We’re gonna call it fantastic.
Beyond sharing specific accomplishments in each piece of NES Remix, you can also share level clear times to compete with friends and the larger community — the first real addition we’ve seen to MiiVerse sharing since it was introduced last year. The games on Nintendo’s game page include Donkey Kong (featuring Link!), Excitebike, Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, Clu Clu Land, Baseball, Tennis, Ice Climbers, Golf and Balloon Fight. We’re told there are 16 games represented in total, though a list of all 16 is nowhere to be found. We’ve dropped a trailer for it just beyond the break. It’s available now on the Wii U eShop for a whopping $16.32 (w/ tax). Woof.
Filed under: Gaming, Software, HD, Nintendo
Source: Nintendo
Xbox 360 Time Warner Cable app finally gets video-on-demand
It’s been a long wait for Xbox 360-faithful wanting Time Warner Cable video-on-demand through their console, but the feature has finally arrived with some 5,000 promised titles (there’s good news for Roku users too, where TWC TV has added VOD to go along with that new YouTube app). If you somehow still aren’t entertained, well maybe chatting with other TWC customers via the app’s messaging feature will do the trick. This seems a tad redundant when the 360′s native messaging client is a few button presses away, but we dig having another way to spoil the latest New Girl for our pals.
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD, Microsoft
Source: Xbox Wire
GeForce Experience update brings Twitch game streaming
NVIDIA’s GeForce Experience may not be tremendously popular with PC gamers, but it’s about to get more traction now that its Twitch streaming is finally available in beta. An updated app lets any player with a Kepler-based GeForce card both livestream their sessions and record clips through ShadowPlay. If you’re worried about missing special moments, there’s a PlayStation 4-like Shadow Mode to automatically capture the last 20 minutes of game time; performance shouldn’t be an issue, since dedicated hardware handles all the video encoding. NVIDIA can’t promise that everything will be smooth in the beta, but it’s already planning to add both a desktop capture mode and new microphone controls. Head to the source links if you’re eager to share your virtual escapades with the world.
Filed under: Gaming, Software, NVIDIA
Via: Tech Digest
Source: NVIDIA (1), (2)
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